Oct 21

Easy Slow Cooked Chicken a la King

A couple weeks ago while watching the Food Channel, there was a repeat of Guy Fieri’s show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives where they were highlighting the dish Chicken a la King. It looked so good that I knew I needed to try this dish. I cannot say that I have ever eaten Chicken a la King before, but I was intrigued on to where and how the dish was created.

After researching a couple of crock pot recipes for Chicken a la King I was pretty confident that the recipe was the creation of a soup company as a marketing ploy for consumers to purchase Cream of Chicken soup. Further research uncovered that although as to the who and where is narrowed down to a few individuals, Chicken a la King was a menu item in restaurants during around the 1890’s and originally was made with a base of cream and sherry. So much for thinking that a company such as Campbell’s Soup introduced Chicken a la King just as String Bean Casserole was created.

I had a busy day ahead of me, so I after reviewing a couple different recipes, I went with one of the recipes from Food.com that appeared simple and was to be cooked in a crock pot. The night before the meal, the main ingredients were prepped and bagged for easy assembly in the crock pot late the next morning.

Prepped and Bagged Ingredients for Crock Pot Chicken a la King

Prepped and Bagged Ingredients for Crock Pot Chicken a la King

Ingredients:

  • 1 Pound of Boneless Chicken Breast, Diced into small cubes
  • 1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 3 Tablespoons Flour
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • Pinch of Ground Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Celery Stalk, Chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Onion, Chopped
  • 10 Ounce Package of Frozen Peas, Thawed
  • 2 Tablespoons of Chopped Pimientos

Preparation:

  1. In the crock pot add the Cream of Chicken Soup, Flour, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper.

    Cream of Chicken, Flour, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper in Crock Pot

    Chicken a la King Ingredients for the Gravy

  2. Mix together to create a paste.

    Chicken a la King Gravy Ingredients Mixed Together

  3. Add the Chicken, Celery, Green Bell Pepper and Onion to the crock pot.

    Chicken a la King Ingredients Brought Together in Crock Pot

  4. Thoroughly mix with the paste created in the first step.

    Chicken a la King Ingredients Mixed Together in Crock Pot

  5. Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours.
  6. Add the Peas and Pimientos, stir and cook for another 30 minutes.

    Adding the Peas and Chopped Pimientos to the cooked Crock Pot Chicken a la King

    Adding the Peas and Chopped Pimientos to the cooked Crock Pot Chicken a la King

I have read enough recipes that say to serve over butter toast, egg noodles, vol au vent cases or puff pastry shells or biscuits. I went with the biscuits and made homemade buttermilk biscuits to go with the Chicken a la King.

Chicken a la King served over Biscuits

Crock Pot Chicken a la King over Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

The meal was good, but after doing more research, there are some additional items I would add to the dish.

I would double up on the Cream of Chicken soup, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper to make for a wetter meal and allow for evaporation that occurs over 7 hours of slow cooking in a crock pot even when covered. I would also add a small package of fresh sliced mushrooms and a splash of Sherry when the Peas and Pimientos were added to give the dish an additional flavor that is lacking in the original recipe I replicated.

I will make this meal again with a modifications listed above. The most important lesson learned in making this meal is that prepping the ingredients the night before made making this dish so easy that despite some of the drawbacks in using a crock pot, the ease of use and simplicity far outweighs any other detraction.

Oct 20

Spaghetti grows on trees

On April the 1st 1957, the BBC broadcast a 3 minute segment on the bumper spaghetti harvest in Southern Switzerland. As you will have noted from the date, it was an April Fool’s Hoax and it has been recognised as the largest and most successful hoax ever carried out on television. So much so, that the next day the BBC was inundated with calls from people asking how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.

As silly as the hoax may sound, there is a type of squash that when cooked creates ribbons that look very like spaghetti and can be used in a similar way, but it has far fewer calories and carbohydrates, however it doesn’t have any real flavour itself, so you need to create a flavourful sauce to go with it. Spaghetti squash is a winter squash and it’s flesh, when uncooked looks the same as any other squash or pumpkin. The magic happens when it is cooked and the flesh can be teased out in spaghetti like ribbons with a fork.

How to prepare a Spaghetti Squash

The easiest way to prepare a spaghetti squash is to bake it in the oven. Either cut the spaghetti squash in half length ways, scoop out the seeds and then place it face down on a baking sheet and cook it in a 400F (200C) oven for 40 minutes, or keep the spaghetti squash whole, prick some holes in the outer flesh, bake it in a 400F (200C) oven for 70 minutes, cut it in half and then scoop out the seeds. I have prepared spaghetti squash both ways and find it easier to remove the seeds before cooking, than trying to deal with it afterwards. A quicker way would be to use a microwave. A rough rule of thumb would be 4 to 5 minutes per pound on high.

Baked spaghetti squash

Baked spaghetti squash

Next hold one half of the spaghetti squash (you may need to use a towel to prevent burning your hands) in a large bowl and using a fork tease out the strands of flesh from top to bottom. Allow the strands to release some of their steam as this will help later on when serving.

Teasing out the spaghetti like strands

Teasing out the spaghetti like strands

How to serve Spaghetti Squash

Though you can use spaghetti squash like normal spaghetti, I have tried serving it with a thick ragu sauce, but I prefer it with a simple dressing such as pesto or one made from sun-dried tomato, diced Prosciutto and garlic, but it is best as an appetiser or a side dish.

Adding the spaghetti squash to the sauce

Adding the spaghetti squash to the sauce

Make you sauce as normal, and once it has finished cooking add the spaghetti squash to the pan to warm through and become coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of Paramesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Spaghetti squash with sun-dried tomato dressing

Spaghetti squash with sun-dried tomato dressing

Oct 19

The Best Crock Pot Roast & Vegetables with Homemade Gravy

There are times when using the crock pot (slow cooker) is the best possible way to cook a meal because of simplicity, time and because of the cut of meat, low and slow is the perfect way to break down a traditionally tough but flavorful piece of meat. I am still learning how to cook “American” style and I have found that the crock pot is an excellent way to provide a flavorful meal with minimal effort and removes so much of the stress of preparing dinner.

Chuck Roast & Vegetables in a Slow Cooker

Crock Pot Chuck Roast & Vegetables

I wanted to cook a slow cooked beef roast, so I went onto the internet and searched a variety of websites to find a selection of different recipes that I could pick and choose a variety of different ingredients in order to make a meal that best met the flavors that I was seeking to achieve. The result is the meal in this post that I made for dinner recently.

Crock Pot Chuck Roast & Vegetables, Cooked for 8 Hours

Slow Cooked Chuck Roast & Vegetables, Cooked for 8 Hours

Ingredients:

  • 2 ½ Pounds of Chuck Roast
  • 1 Can of Beef Broth
  • 1 Can of Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1 Packet of Lipton Onion Dip Mix
  • 1 Pound Container of Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
  • 1 Pound Bag of Prepared Baby Carrots
  • 1 ½ Pounds of Pearl Onions (Peeled and left Whole – Secret Ingredient!)
  • 1 ½ Pounds of Fingerling Potatoes
  • Flour, Salt & Pepper

 Instructions for Preparing the Crock Pot:

  1.  Mix the Beef Broth, Condensed Mushroom Soup and Lipton Onion Dip Mix in the crock pot.
  2. Sprinkle Flour, Salt and Black Pepper on the Chuck Roast and sear on all sides in a hot skillet.
  3. Place the seared Chuck Roast in the crock pot and then spoon the mixture in the crock pot over the Chuck Roast.
  4. Add the Baby Carrots, Fingerling Potatoes and peeled Pearl Onions.
  5. Slow cook for 8 – 9 hours on Low or 4 – 5 hours on High. Personally, going for low heat for a longer period of time is what is needed to cook the Chuck Roast to perfection.

From all that I have read this is where most recipes stop and say once cooked, removed the meat and vegetables and serve wither by itself, with egg noodles or with steamed rice.

Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Slow Cooked (8 Hours) Chuck Roast

Once the meat and vegetables had been removed, I was looking at the broth / natural gravy remaining in the crock pot and realized that there was the potential to do more than just pour the broth over the meal. I was going to make a homemade pot roast gravy.

Instructions for Homemade Pot Roast Gravy:

I poured the remaining broth into a large measuring cup and saw that I had about three cups of Pot Roast Broth to make the gravy.

3 Cups of Pot Roast Natural Gravy

3 Cups of Pot Roast Broth

  1. Separate the drippings from the broth and add the drippings to a medium size sauce pan and heat the drippings on High.
  2. Add  3 Tablespoons of Flour and mixed the drippings and the flour together to make a roux. Once the roux was smooth I turned down the temperature to Medium.
  3.  Slowly add the 3 cups of Pot Roast Broth to the sauce pan, stirring constantly to make the gravy. Once all of the broth had been added, the gravy was seasoned with salt and black pepper to taste.
Pot Roast Gravy Made From Scratch

Homemade Pot Roast Gravy

The gravy that had a phenomenal taste that brought all of the flavors of the Pot Roast together and was perfect in how the gravy coated the meat, vegetables and egg noodles that I cooked for this meal.

Pot Roast with Vegetables, Egg Noodles and Homemade Gravy

Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Vegetables, Egg Noodles and Homemade Gravy

I know that meals prepared in a crock pot can be failures. Many times the dish can be too salty and the ingredients overcooked. This is one recipe where the ability to be successful is great and the addition of the homemade gravy takes this crock pot meal from being ordinary to amazing. In addition to this, because there is so much food made in this recipe, the leftovers the next day are just as good.

 

Oct 18

Making semolina pasta at home

At the risk of sounding like a ‘foodie’, homemade egg pasta is my food heaven. Though you can easily buy fresh pasta nowadays in most supermarkets, the satisfaction you get from working the pasta dough, rolling it, cooking it and finally eating it with a simple dressing is far greater than buying fresh pasta and way higher than any dried pasta. Homemade pasta isn’t something you do when you don’t have time and the best durum wheat dried pastas are perfect for an everyday meal. However fresh pasta is a treat to save for those times when you want to experience a true ‘foodie’ experience.

Fresh homemade semolina pasta served with olive oil, black pepper and grated Parmesan

Fresh homemade semolina pasta served with olive oil, black pepper and grated Parmesan

I first made pasta nearly 20 years ago, before I owned a pasta machine, and though the results were okay, I knew that a little perseverance would pay off in the long run. The recipe and method was simply as follows;

  • 115g (0.25 lb) of strong flour
  • 1 egg
  • 0.5 tsp of salt

I poured the flour onto the counter with the salt and made a small well in it. I cracked the egg into the well and then gently started to incorporate the flour into the egg. Once the dough was forming a dough, I started to kneed it for about 5 mins, then wrapped it in plastic wrap and allowed it to rest in the refrigerator for a hour. I then rolled out the dough as thin as I could with a rolling pin and plenty of flour, cut it into long ribbons of tagliatelle and dropped them into rolling boiling salted water. The pasta tasted better than dried, but since I wasn’t able to roll the dough thin enough it was quite thick and soggy.

Though it is possible to roll pasta dough thin enough with a rolling pin, it is better to buy a pasta machine to take the effort out of the task if you intend to make it regularly. As well as helping produce ultra thin pasta dough, most pasta machines come with attachments for making different pasta types such as Lasagnette, Ravioli, Tagliatelle, Trenette, Fettuccine, Spaghetti, Angel Hair and Gnocchi.

You can make fresh pasta from all-purpose flour or ‘doppia zero’ (00) super fine flour if you can get a hold of it, but in my opinion homemade pasta made from ‘semola di grano duro’ (durum wheat semolina flour) is far better. The only problem is trying to get a hold of it. I have searched high and low to find some semolina flour in reasonable quantities for a reasonable price, but it is quite hard to track down. If you are lucky enough to find it, make sure it is semolina flour and not ordinary semolina, as this is too coarse for making pasta.

How to make semolina pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (160g) of durum wheat semolina flour
  • 0.5 cups (80g) of plain (all purpose) flour
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp of water
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 0.5 tsp of salt
  • some more semolina flour of dusting

Method

  1. Mix together the water, egg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the flours.

    Semolina egg pasta ingredients

    Semolina egg pasta ingredients

  2. Using a fork, mix together the ingredients until they start to form a dough.
  3. Using floured hands kneed the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth.

    Semolina pasta dough

    Semolina pasta dough

  4. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour to rest. You can also split the dough into smaller pieces and freeze some for another day.
  5. Work the dough using your hands into a flattish disc about the width of your pasta machine and set the machines rollers to the widest setting (usually number 1).
  6. Place the dough into the mouth of the rollers and turn the handle quite slowly. Capture the pasta with your other hand and once it has completely passed through the rollers, lay it out on a well floured work surface and sprinkle with some more flour.

    Rolling out the pasta dough at the widest setting

    Rolling out the pasta dough at the widest setting

  7. Repeat step 6, but decrease the gap between the rollers on the pasta machine one step at a time until your reach the narrowest setting. Since the sheet of pasta will increase in length between each setting, you may wish to cut the sheet in half to make it easier for handling.

    Pasta sheets

    Pasta sheets

  8. Allow the pasta sheets to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting. If you have a specific attachment on your pasta machine such as Tagliatelle or Fettuccine you can run the sheet through that, or you can cut the sheets into strips by hands, or make ravioli. It is up to you, want pasta shape you wish to make. Whatever pasta shape you make, use plenty of flour to stop them sticking together.

    Fresh semolina Spaghetti and Fettuccine

    Fresh semolina Spaghetti and Fettuccine

  9. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil and drop your pasta in a little at a time. It should only take a couple of minutes to cook, and it will start to float to the top of the water when it is done. Test a piece with you teeth to ensure it is ‘Al dente’, i.e. not too soft, but with a little bite.

    Fresh pasta cooking in fast boiling water

    Fresh pasta cooking in fast boiling water

  10. Drain the pasta and mix it with a little olive oil. Add a sauce or dressing, season and then serve. Buon appetito!

 

Oct 17

Sassy Salmon

I have always liked seafood, but it was not until this past year that I have begun to cook fish at home. With that being said, I really enjoy the versatility and forgiveness of salmon when it has been grilled or baked and how well the flavor and texture of the filet pairs with a variety of seasonings. For this most recent “experimentation”, I was working with two requirements. I did not have enough time to marinate the filet, but I was looking to make a glaze that was full of flavor. My solution was a glaze that sweet, spicy and salty, in other words sassy!

Salmon Baked with a Honey, Sambal and Soy Sauce Glaze on a Plate

Baked Sassy Samon on Plate with Stir Fried Broccoli

Ingredients:

Salmon Filet

  • 2 Tablespoons of Honey
  • 1 Tablespoon of Sambal (You could also use Sriracha or Hot Sauce)
  • ¼ Cup of Soy Sauce
  • ¼ Cup of Vegetable Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Salt
  • 1 ½ – 2 Pounds of Salmon Filets or Steaks

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a small bowl mix the Honey, Sambal, Soy Sauce and Vegetable Oil and whisk together so all of the ingredients are combined together.

    Ingredients for Salmon Glaze (Honey, Sambal, Soy Sauce and Vegetable Oil)

    Sassy Salmon Glaze Before Being Whisked

  3. On a baking sheet covered with either parchment paper (preferred) or aluminum foil and then lay down the salmon filets or steaks. Season the salmon with Black Pepper and a little bit of Salt.
  4. With a basting brush or a spoon, liberally coat the salmon with the glaze that was prepared. You will most likely not use all of the glaze, and that is fine.

    Salmon with Sassy Glaze Bruished On

    Salmon with Sassy Glaze Ready to be Baked

  5. Place the glazed salmon in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can also grill the salmon if you wish.

In my opinion salmon is a very forgiving fish and has a window of time on either side of the recommended time of cooking where it is still perfectly cooked. If the salmon can be easily pulled apart with a fork then it is cooked just right.

Baked Salmon with a Glaze of Honey, Sambal, Soy Sauce and Vegetable Oil

Baked Sassy Salmon

There are several things I enjoyed about this salmon. The first that from beginning of preparation to the time the fish was ready to eat was no more than 30 minutes. The flavor of the glaze was a perfect balance of the sweetness from the Honey, spiciness of the Sambal and the saltiness of the Soy Sauce. No one flavor dominated and was a perfect match with the salmon filet. The third reason that this was a great meal is that cleanup was simple and quick.